It seems like everywhere you turn, you find people who run a blog. The arts community is no different! But how do you create an awesome artist’s blog that increases hits on your website and sales through your storefront? From covering new films to gallery openings and fabulous festivals, let’s talk about how to create really awesome blog posts covering the arts scene.
Treat it like a regular blog
This doesn’t refer to what you’re writing about, just the strategy and tactics you use to get the best response. A great blog writer will use formatting like subheadings, bullet points and text formatting to make the post easy to read. They’ll also lead with a great “hook” or attention-grabbing opening, have a conversational tone, put in photos or video media to make it more interesting and post at least once a week. They’ll use the blog as a vehicle for professional appearance and will promote it using a variety of methods including social media marketing, regular newsletters from art show contacts or their website and email campaigns.
Write about your art process
The majority of art blogs out there have a one-sentence introduction with a photo. This is not why people are coming to an artist’s blog! Instead of a simple, “I painted this last week,” aim to share your art process with your readers. They want to purchase an experience when they’re looking at your art!
Some ways to go about this is by talking about what inspired the piece, the materials and techniques you used, any good or bad issues you had with the creation process and any other parts of the story. Aim to write a minimum of 250 words and don’t be afraid to include pictures of your sketchbook, design board or in-progress pieces.
Talk about your art-life connection
Don’t be afraid to talk about your life and how it changes your art style. Are you a glass worker who has just found hollow forms fascinating after an amazing class? Have you lost a loved one that has caused you to use a darker style in your music? What about the awesome sunset that gave you some fabulous inspiration for theatrical light design? Be sure to keep it tied to your art, at least minimally.
Discuss what brought you to your current style
What drove you to become an artist? What made you choose the media you create in? Who are some other artists who inspired your creative style? Put some work into considering how you had that chain mail phase in your jewelry after The Hobbit movie came out or
Don’t be afraid to talk shop
Did you have a fabulous show? Tell your readers about it. What about the new display you put together? Discuss why you think it works so well. Do you have some ideas to share on what makes a fabulous jury photo? Put together a tips and tricks post.
Cathleen V is a multi-talented writer with experience in many different fields. As a content, article and blog writer, she focuses on small business management, content optimization and marketing, arts businesses, agriculture, home improvement, food, nutrition and natural health. She is a top 1% content writer out of over 22,000.